Notting Hill writer Richard Curtis has revealed that Julia Roberts refused to take part in a sequel to the beloved 1999 romantic comedy because her character was supposed to get divorced.
The Four Weddings and a Funeral filmmaker, 68, shared that he initially proposed a story in which his character, Anna Scott, and Hugh Grant’s character, William Thacker, were separated, but Roberts didn’t like the idea. .
“I tried to do one with Notting Hill where they were getting divorced,” Richard said.
“Julia (Roberts) thought it was a very bad idea.”
When asked about revisiting any of his previous films, the About Time director said he was pleased with his work on Red Nose Day and Comic Relief, where he wrote mini-sequels to Love Actually.
Notting Hill writer Richard Curtis has revealed that Julia Roberts refused to take part in a sequel to the beloved 1999 romantic comedy because her character was supposed to get divorced.
The actress said she was initially reluctant to accept the role because she felt “uncomfortable” playing the irascible American movie star Anna Scott.
“I don’t think so,” he told IndieWire. “We did those Love Actually mini-sequels and they satisfied me.”
The revelation follows the Pretty Woman star’s admission that she was initially uncomfortable with the role of Anna Scott and almost turned it down entirely.
Earlier this year, the Eat, Pray, Love actress shared her initial reluctance to take on the iconic role in Notting Hill, admitting she almost turned down the role due to her discomfort playing a famous movie star.
The Oscar winner, 57, told Vogue that she struggled with the character, who is a hot-tempered Hollywood actress.
Speaking to Curtis for Vogue’s February issue, Julia said: “Honestly, one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was (Notting Hill) playing a film actress. I felt so uncomfortable!
‘I mean, we’ve talked about this many times, but I almost didn’t take the role because it seemed… oh, it seemed so uncomfortable. “I didn’t even know how to read that person.”
His discomfort with the character went beyond the performance, as Roberts also had problems with his costume.
She said she “hated” being dressed like a glamorous movie star and even took matters into her own hands for a key scene.
The writer behind the beloved 1999 romantic comedy explained that Roberts didn’t like the initial script for the sequel, which involved his character divorcing Hugh Grant’s character William Thacker.
Julia Roberts revealed she even asked her driver to go back to her apartment and pick out an outfit from her own wardrobe to wear in the iconic ‘I’m Just A Girl’ scene (pictured).
In the iconic moment where Anna runs back to William and confesses, “I’m just a girl,” the mother of three wore her own clothes instead of the film’s wardrobe.
“My driver, the lovely Tommy, I sent back to my apartment that morning,” she recalled.
“I said, ‘Go to my room and get this, this, and this out of my closet.’ They were my own flip-flops, my cute little blue velvet skirt, a T-shirt, and my cardigan.
Despite these initial struggles, both Roberts and co-star Hugh Grant received Golden Globe nominations for their performances.
Nicole Kidman, who was also eager to take on the role of Anna Scott, admitted in 2021 that she was devastated to lose to Roberts.
“I really wanted to play the role of Julia Roberts in Notting Hill,” Kidman revealed in an interview with Marie Claire.
“But he wasn’t well-known enough or talented enough.”